An enchanting fusion of art and music at the Serpentine

This is a “live” review, from an exhibition that’s as near as most of us will get to attending a party — no, a gig — in the world’s coolest painter's studio. I'm at the Serpentine Gallery, sitting in a vintage modernist armchair surrounded by a choice array of Peter Doig paintings, as ethereal ambient sounds drift from a Klangfilm Euronor speaker. This 1950s German sonic transmitter is as far as you'll get from the near-invisible, hyper-directional speakers favoured in art galleries these days. Standing at nearly 10ft-high in its polished wooden casing, the spotlit speaker looms over the space like some monstrous modernist idol — a sculpture, almost, in its own right.

- Mark Hudson, The Independent

Doig's multi-referential canvases have made him probably the single most influential painter in the world today. His assembling of different styles of painting and diverse forms of imagery — from old master paintings and random found photographs to horror movies — has often felt akin to a quasi-musical “mixing”. So the fact that he happens to be obsessed with music doesn't come as a surprise.

Born in Scotland in 1959, and raised in Canada and Trinidad — the latter of which has been a big influence on his tastes — he chose to study at London's St Martins School of Art to be close to his favourite post-punk bands. His record collection, which extends through calypso, reggae and hip-hop to rock and jazz, is dispersed through domiciles and lockups spanning three continents. This, however, is the first exhibition to bring together Doig’s twin passions. Devised by Doig and sound-system expert Laurence Passera, it allows the public to enjoy spontaneously programmed selections from Doig's record collection— based on the artist’s carefully curated playlists — all day every day for the show's duration. No two experiences of the show will be the same.